ELKIN — Mount Airy’s lone senior Kourtney Wagoner made the most of her final Northwest 1A Conference matchup Thursday, leading the way for the Bears 7-1 win over Elkin with a terrific performance both at the plate and on the mound.

Wagoner pitched a complete game for coach Olivia Bolin’s squad, striking out nine and walking just one while also finishing 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs, three RBIs, a double and a homerun, accounting for five of the Bears’ seven total runs.

Bolin said afterwards she was very happy with the performance Wagoner put up Thursday.

“She did great for us,” she said. “I am really pleased with her efforts. On the mound, she pitched great, she was hitting her spots and she was aggressive at the plate. She is a double-threat player, which is really valuable in a game like this.”

Wagoner’s first hit of the game was a double to the fence in the first inning, which helped the Bears take a 1-0 lead early.

Elkin tied the score at 1-1 in the second, followed by Mount Airy having trouble finding its rhythm on offense.

Wagoner shook the cobwebs from her team’s bats, however, when in the fifth she blasted a deep three-run shot to left-center to instantly turn the tide and give the Bears the momentum they would need to take the win.

“She hit a bomb,” Bolin said. “It was on a 3-0 pitch and I gave her greenlight and she took care of business. She put it away.”

The win pushed the Bears to 8-8 in conference play and 9-9 overall with two non-conference games, against Carroll County (Va.) and Surry Central, remaining.

After a tough start to the season, the Bears went on to win five straight, beginning with a 10-9 win over East Wilkes.

Bolin said she has been happy with her team’s improvement in the latter part of the season.

“We had a slow start and I remember there was one point where we were 3-7,” she said. “We set a season goal and a game goal and all of the girls worked every game to meet their goals and because of that we were able to win five ball games in a row. Towards the last part of the season, we really were able to bring everything together. I am pleased with us coming from where we started to where we finished. The girls didn’t give up, and it showed a lot of strength in them.”

Behind Wagoner offensively for the Bears was Sarah Harris, who finished 2-for-4 with a double and one RBI, and Christian Bowman, who ended the day 1-for-2 with a walk and a run.

Mount Airy 7,

Elkin 1

Mount Airy 100 030 3 — 7 8 2

Elkin 010 000 0 — 1 2 1

WP: Kourtney Wagoner; LP: S. Wagoner

2B: MA — Sarah Connelly, Sarah Harris, Kourtney Wagoner; E — S. Walsh; HR: MA — Kourtney Wagoner